Chapter 13 Chapter 13 Both parents are upright and have good roots...
When she woke up, it was still raining heavily. Su Yan got up and saw two children reading books. She asked, "Xiao Gang, Yan Zi, what time is it? Are you hungry?"
Yan Zi climbed down from the bed: "Aunt, you're awake. You slept until the afternoon!"
Su Yan squatted down and touched her forehead: "Your fever is gone, are you still having diarrhea? Are you feeling unwell?"
Yan Zi shook her head: "No, aunt, I'm fine, just a little hungry. My brother heated up the porridge for me this morning, it's delicious with sugar in it."
Su Yan smiled, boiled the remaining potatoes Uncle Xu had brought her, and fried a few eggs. For the next few days, at least, Su Yan wasn't planning on giving them braised pork; potatoes and whole grains would be enough.
After staying at home for over two weeks, she visited Lu Yingzi's mother, Ge Hongmei, twice in the hospital. She still didn't recognize anyone and was still violent. During an injection, she bit the nurse's wrist. Su Yan had no choice but to apologize to the nurse. When she entered the ward, Ge Hongmei took the iron bowl she used for eating and smashed it around, making it clang loudly. Ge Hongmei didn't hit Su Yan, but glanced at her and turned away, staring blankly out the window.
Su Yan sent her July rations to the hospital. Normally, they wouldn't need them, but Su Yan felt sorry for her and, fearing the hospital wouldn't have much to offer, she sent ten pounds of cornmeal. What Su Yan didn't know was that with a violent patient like Ge Hongxia, the doctors and nurses wouldn't dare tell her to eat enough. A full meal would give her plenty of energy, and if she started to make a scene, several doctors and nurses wouldn't be able to control her. And at a time when everyone was hungry and exhausted, how could they dare tell a patient to eat enough?
By mid-July, the personnel department of the machinery factory notified Su Yan to submit her documents and complete the formalities for starting work. Section Chief Zhou Chuanxiong said to Su Yan, "You're lucky! □□ originally disagreed with you taking over your father's position. The other day, when we went to visit the old secretary, □□'s wife mentioned your situation, saying how difficult it was for you to raise two nephews and nieces on your own. The old secretary still remembered you and asked if you had graduated from college."
Su Yan smiled and said, "Section Chief Zhou, in the end, it's the factory that's good, and the policies are good! The leaders' care for our family, and for my mother, would have been unheard of in the old society. This is all due to the organization's concern and the Party's guidance."
Section Chief Zhou smiled and thought to himself that Lu Yingzi was talking in different ways: "Yes, there is no policy, and we can't transfer you in even if we want to." While explaining what information Su Yan was still missing, he asked Su Yan if she could go to Shanghai. After all, a college diploma is more valuable, and if she can get a diploma back, her future prospects will be better.
Su Yan shook her head: "Chief Zhou, our family is in this situation now. I really can't go back to Shanghai to continue my studies. I came back on my own."
Section Chief Zhou nodded. "Well, there's nothing we can do. But you have a high school diploma, so that's all you need." He told her to go back and complete the paperwork, then added, "You're a girl, and your family is burdened. The factory leaders have taken your special circumstances into consideration and are not asking you to leave the workshop. You'll stay in our Personnel Department. It just so happens that Old Zhang is retiring this year, and he's in poor health, so he hasn't been to the factory much this year. You'll take his place. Our personnel work isn't complicated. You've gone to college, so you're smart and a quick learner."
When Su Yan walked out of the personnel department, someone greeted her: "Isn't this Yingzi? What position has the factory assigned to you?"
Su Yan smiled and said, "Hello, Auntie. I haven't finished the materials yet!"
The aunt had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and was tall. "Oh, don't hide it from me, I've heard that you're doing well now, sitting in an office, sheltered from the wind and sun, and you don't even sweat all day. You're enjoying life!"
Su Yan remained calm, taking everything she said as a compliment. "Aunt, it's all the same. It's all revolutionary work, whether it's working in the workshop or in personnel management. There's no distinction between high and low. It's a shame. I was almost graduating from university and had halfway through my thesis, and now something's happened at home. But Chief Zhou said that fortunately I still have a high school diploma, and that's enough."
The aunt's face fell immediately: "Yes, you are different, you have been educated, you are a high school student." At the same time, she said that she was going to the workshop and would talk to Su Yan after work.
Su Yan still smiled: "Then I'll wait for my aunt!"
After Su Yan left, the man spat on the ground: "Bah, isn't he just a high school student? Why are you so arrogant?"
The people who were traveling with him laughed and said, "They have diplomas, and you're jealous of them. Why don't you study and get a diploma too?"
The aunt rolled her eyes. "Lu Yingzi was born a dozen years later than me. Wasn't I born in the old society? My parents didn't allow girls to go to school, so I couldn't even attend elementary school. When Lu Yingzi was going to school, it was already the new society."
After all this talk, no one continued to talk to her. Instead, everyone started talking about the good things about the new society. In the new society, women could hold up half the sky, they could go out to work, and girls could go to college. They talked so enthusiastically that they left the aunt aside.
Su Yan finished her work and was in a good mood. When she got home, she cooked three dishes according to the recipe: two meat dishes and one mapo tofu. She got the tofu from someone's house; Aunt Xu recommended it to her. She bought a block for 20 cents. Su Yan was hesitant at first: "Aunt Xu, isn't this illegal? Isn't this disrupting the market?"
Aunt Xu laughed at her and said, "Let's not talk about my relationship with this family. Even if you say it was a gift, who knows if you paid for it? Or take the black market. If you go to the train station, there are always people buying and selling food."
Su Yan asked, "Aren't those people who are speculating at the train station afraid of being caught by the police?"
Aunt Xu said, "Even if we arrest people, we can't arrest them every day. These days, the police tend to turn a blind eye."
Su Yan nodded, wondering if she could use the food and pork in the space to exchange for something else. Her salary could barely support Xiaogang and Yanzi. When they grew up and went to high school, it might not be enough.
At that time, in the 1980s, reform and opening up should have already begun. Collecting some porcelain vases and the like should have been very valuable. Su Yan would never dare touch things like gold bars. The Lu family was already sensitive, and gold bars were even more so.
After dinner, Su Yan took Xiaogang's textbook and taught the two of them how to read. They were very smart and memorized more than ten words in just one hour.
The next morning, Su Yan reported to the factory's personnel department early. No one was there when she arrived, so she wiped the tables with a rag. Gradually, people began to arrive. She had previously asked Uncle Xu about the personnel department, so she could recognize each person by name and greet them warmly.
The personnel department had eleven people. One was about to retire, and one was pregnant and had given birth, and wouldn't be back until after her confinement. The only people sharing Su Yan's office were Sister Feng, Uncle Lu, Dayan, and Qu Jiefang. The section chief was in another office. Sister Feng, Feng Chunying, was in her thirties. She had been the village women's director and had been transferred to the machinery factory through her husband's connections. She had a round face, a handsome figure, and a bright smile. As soon as she saw Su Yan, she took her hand and asked how things were going at home and if her mother's illness had improved.
Su Yan replied, "My mother's illness is still the same, but at least there are doctors in the hospital." Sister Feng nodded and said, "More than just doctors, at least she won't starve."
Uncle Lu was probably in his forties, but his hair had already turned white and his clothes were washed grey, but the material was of excellent quality and there were no patches at all.
He was a quiet, silent man. When Su Yan greeted him, he simply nodded and walked away. Su Yan initially thought he had something against her, but later discovered he treated everyone else in the factory the same way. He never chatted with others during breaks, always keeping to himself.
At first, Su Yan thought he was socially anxious, but then Sister Feng told her, "Yingzi, don't get too close to Old Lu. His problems are much more serious than yours. You're just gossiping. Although your grandfather was a rich peasant, he died long ago when the social status was determined. Your parents are both upright revolutionary workers with a good family background. He's different. Someone in his family went to Taiwan."
Su Yan was surprised: "Taiwan? Doesn't that mean..." She didn't finish the rest of the sentence. Sister Feng nodded and gave her a look: "Just figure it out yourself!"
Su Yan nodded. "Thank you, Sister Feng, for reminding me. I haven't been home in the past few years, so I don't know a lot about what's going on in the factory. But, with his family's situation, how can he still be a worker?"
Sister Feng said, "He's been working here since before the founding of the People's Republic of China. He was a manager. He has technical skills, and the policy was good back then, so they asked him to stay." She then whispered, "This policy is going to change!"
Of course Su Yan knew that the policy was going to change, and it was going to be a big change.
The other one is called Dayan, whose full name is Fu Dayan, 26 years old, four years older than Su Yan. He is a relative of the city leader and has connections. He only has a junior high school education. He usually only comes one or two days a week, sometimes in the afternoon, sometimes in the morning, but no one says anything to him. The section chief also said that his health is often not good, and asked other people in the office to help him more.
Sister Feng said in a gloomy tone, "Chief, your health has been failing. You should go to the hospital. You didn't even write a note..."
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